


The Poison Frog and The Sparrow

by Go0se



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Drabble Collection, Enemies to Friends, Female Friendship, Food As A Metaphor For Friendship, Gen, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-07-01 17:45:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15778983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Go0se/pseuds/Go0se
Summary: Chronological collection of drabbles about Kiredori and Mei-Ling.1. Crows were a constant in the new Headquarters, silent and faceless as ghosts.2. On their way back from the mission they hit an ambush.3. Kiss, Marry, Avoid: a classic of our time.4. They talk after a battle, sort of.5. Both of them make a decision about the other.6. An overture. Bao-based peacekeeping efforts.





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> Once again dedicated to / blamed on Froggy [ Froggyhopscotch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FroggyHopscotch/profile). For you and your angry poison frog daughter.

Mei-Ling was training with all the others when the tallest Crow threw Allen into the pillar hard enough to crack it.

Crows were a constant in the new Headquarters, silent and faceless as ghosts. Mei-Ling couldn’t tell one from another. The first time she had seen them without veils was when one attacked her friend. She wouldn’t learn until that evening’s briefing what the Thirds had become.  
Allen was fine—he was always fine—but the moment echoed.

The shortest Crow was a girl around her own age with beads in her hair. Mei-Ling wondered, never getting close enough to ask. 

 *

Exorcists were children. Petty, easily distracted. Kiredori watched them all silently, watched them overlook her, and thought idly of sneaking hemlock into their soups.

She didn’t particularly care about the war. Or Levillier, though he’d brought her family into the fold. Kiredori cared about staying with her sister and brothers. She cared about one day killing Inspector Link for making Tewaku cry.

But to do that, she had to do her job: keeping these Exorcists in line. It wouldn’t be difficult.  
Exorcists were children in dark woods, and Thirds were both the lights on the path and the wolves.


	2. Fight

Kiredori’s first mission as a Third was with the two youngest Exorcists. Their assignment was boringly easy: Innocence fragment retrieval.

On the way back they hit an ambush. A Level Three, several Twos and clouds of Ones appearing ahead on foggy prairie.

_Not enough._

Her and the Exorcists whittled the enemies down fast. She fought frenziedly, grinning as her flames crackled and akuma screamed.  
The smallest Exorcist was a parasite type and attached at the palm to the other one, so Kiredori didn’t bother using her protective spell feathers. She was pretty sure they’d make it.

Then the smallest fell.

  
*

Timothy’s uniform smoked as he stumbled, nearly unconscious.  
Mei-Ling killed the last Level One without thinking and caught him. They hit the soil together, clutching each other tightly.

  
The level three lurched closer—

— twisted horribly —

disappeared with sickening meaty crunches.  
Into Kiredori’s _arm_. The Crow had stepped in front of them; her hand had opened like a talon and swallowed the akuma whole. _  
_

  
_That wasn't Innocence_ , Mei-Ling thought, ears ringing. But the akuma was gone.  
Bloodied, tearful, exhausted and confused, she and Timothy stared.

Kiredori looked down at them, panting, her burning eyes ringed in darkness. Wordlessly she turned away.


	3. Choices

“Madison, Keisha--”  
Mei-Ling blushed, thankful her warm brown skin somewhat hid it.  
“-- and the Crow girl with the hair?" Daniel grinned, Phoebe and Sean nodding.  
Mei-Ling’s mood faltered. “Hey, no Crows.”  
“Hey, _we_ pick people, _you_ pick snog, marry or avoid."

"Why’re Crows so bad, anyway?” Sean asked.

She tried to explain; thinking of Lenalee, Allen, Kanda. "Kiredori hurts people. Crows aren't like us.” Mei-Ling finished finally.  
Silence. Her friends had paused on the trail, staring.

Phoebe broke the quiet. “So... kissing or marrying Keisha."

The tension eased as they cackled. Mei-Ling hid her flushed smile behind her hands.

  
*  
  
A gaggle of Headquarter kids surrounded Kiredori’s lunch seat, chattering about a game. Bored, she played along.  
“Tewaku, Mei-Ling, or… that Inspector?” One hazarded.

“ _Ew_ , he's like twenty!” Scoffed another.  
“Yeah but she only knows Central people and Exorcists.”  
Whispered, “ _Weird._ ” Snickering.

  
Kiredori jabbed her dumpling in thought. “Kiss Tokusa’s cheek, the sappy nerd.”  
“That wasn't--”  
“S _hhhh."_  
“Hug Tewaku, my sister deserves it.”  
“Oh-- it's ‘marry, avoid’, but hug’s fine if you're siblings--”  
“And kill Link.”

Silence.  
“... don't you mean—”  
“Kill.”  Kiredori let her cold hatred of  _him_ bleed through frighteningly. She smiled.

The rest of her lunch was quieter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Froggy for Kiredori's spoken dialogue in this chapter (many moons ago at this point).


	4. Making Conversation

Weeks passed. The Thirds Exorcists stayed intimidating, but got… routine. Mei-Ling would’ve never called them friendly.

Then a mission saw her and Kiredori in British Columbia, where an enormous heron-like akuma hit the Crow flat off a cliff. Mei-Ling didn’t think; she _reacted_. Twisting her whole body, she sent the other akuma she’d been fighting crashing down.    
Leverage catapulted her upwards. From the air, she could see Kiredori falling. Mei-Ling threw Heaven Weaver towards her, praying hard as she could.

As her Innocence reached Kiredori, she shouted. " _Fasten_!”   
The threads snapped around their target. Relief singing through her, she fell.

  
*

Kiredori was used to pain. Tasting her own blood was unavoidable. Innocence looping around her torso felt like _death_.    
She'd screamed and struggled, caught as a fish on a hook.  
  
Then, worse, she'd had to climb it.

Flat atop the cliff, her burned hands shaking, Kiredori gulped for breath. Glaring.  
The Exorcist deactivated ( _finally_ ), her face flat on reddened dirt too. “Are--”  
“I could’ve caught myself,” Kiredori interrupted. Their first words shared.  
The Exorcist looked confused, then indignant. “I helped-- _saved_ you?”   
Apostles were stupid. “I _don't_ need help," she'd wheezed, rolling to face away. Thirds only needed each other.


	5. In-Arms

After British Columbia, Mei-Ling started looking out for Kiredori the way you looked for lit windows in the dark.

The Crow made it kinda hard. Mei-Ling still didn’t like her or trust her much at all. But pulling the Crow from certain death had reminded her of something she’d forgotten: they were comrades. Liking her didn’t matter. They owed each other their lives, and Mei-Ling’s responsibility as an Exorcist was to protect her; to protect everyone. She was supposed to have kept Kiredori safe to begin with, but she’d failed.

Watching Kiredori’s back now was the best she could do.

   
*

  
The Exorcist girl was looking at Kiredori more, and she had no idea why.  
Tewaku was better with people stuff. “She's not stupid enough to threaten me,” Kiredori whispered up to her bunk, “It's just annoying.”  
“Maybe she’s trying to talk to you?” Tewaku whispered back groggily.  
“... why?”   
She could _hear_ her sister shrug. Their beds creaked as Tewaku rolled over.  “Watch her for now, we don't--”  
“Interfere unless required,” Kiredori finished the mantra. Fine. “Thanks, Tewa.”  
"Sure, Kir.” Her still-human hand appeared through their bunk’s ladder.  
Kiredori held it for a moment, then let go, rolling over to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! I am back with more traumatized teenage girls learning to respect one another.


	6. Truce

Kiredori followed Tewa’s advice easily. The Exorcist trusted people to a fault; her secrets were boring. She was cheerful, a bad liar, always jumped when someone said jump.  
She shared like she'd never had to starve. Even with Kiredori.

 

In Jaipur Kiredori was all sunburn, reeking pits, and the freezing ache her akuma arm bit into her torso. When the unit stopped for roadside lunch, she’d sat apart. _Alone_.  
Someone coughed behind her anyway. Scowling, Kiredori turned.  
It was the Exorcist, holding a clothful of steamed buns. “... um. It’s bakpau,” she offered. “It’s good. You must be hungry?”  
_No._ Kiredori had ate rations already; Crows weren't _unprepared._... but it did smell good. And maybe the girl would leave. She opened her hand.

The Exorcist blinked, tried (badly) to hide her surprise, and passed her a bun.  
Kiredori bit it as a test. It tasted like pork and blessings wrapped in soft dough. Holy _crap._ She started scarfing it, ignoring the Exorcist sitting beside her on the grass.  
“I’m Mei-Ling,” she said.  
Kiredori swallowed, muttering, “I know.”  Ignoring the girl’s tiny smile, too.

  
... at least _he_ didn't supervise this Exorcist. Maybe she wasn't the worst Kiredori could’ve been assigned.  
Comparatively. Considering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


End file.
